We've just received word that Allerton Fire Station is to shut tomorrow, April 1. And no, that is not a joke. The Echo reported a few months ago that the station was set to close as Merseyside Fire Service attempt to find £6.3m in cuts after having their budget slashed. A public consultation is ongoing over the future of other stations in Wirral. Mergers have also been mooted for Wirral, Knowsley and St Helens.

Reporter Joe Thomas has been out in Anfield where apparently two women have been subjected to a hammer attack by a man who smashed up a car in the street. Police have told me both women have been taken to hospital, one of them suffering from a broken arm apparently. Police are still searching the area for the attacker. If anyone knows anything about it please call the police on 0151 777 4065 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

My colleague Joe Thomas has reported that two women may have been attacked by a man weilding a hammer. The two women, one in her 50s and the second in her 20s, are currently being treated for injuries to their arms.

Join Breaking News Editor Ben Turner
and the team from 6.30am to 11pm for the latest news, traffic and travel and sport - as it happens. If there's something you've spotted and want us to check out then tell us in our comment box or via Twitter
or Facebook

Send a story

Advertising Department

Trinity Mirror Merseyside, the Echo's parent company, is one of the North West’s largest multimedia providers reaching more than 900,000 adults every month.

The Liverpool Echo, Trinity Mirror Merseyside’s flagship brand, is the area’s best-read newspaper including national newspapers.

The Liverpool Echo reaches 1 in 3 people in the area with a daily readership of more than 256,000* people.The Liverpool Echo website reaches 1.5 million unique users each month who look at around 8.5 million pages**.

The Editor

Alastair Machray

Alastair Machray was appointed editor of The Liverpool Echo in 2005 and is also editor-in-chief of Trinity Mirror Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales. He is a former editor of The Daily Post (Wales and England) and editor-in-chief of the company's Welsh operations. Married dad-of-two and keen golfer Alastair is one of the longest-serving newspaper editors in the country. His titles have won numerous awards and spearheaded numerous successful campaigns.